Since Phoenix’s infectious Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix ended up on several of our top ten lists this year, I finally succumbed to the hype and listened to the album, and I’m really glad I did. If I’d done that earlier, it would likely have been on my top ten. Ah well. In any case, the last artist you might expect the bright and poppy Phoenix to cover would be Bob Dylan, but they did just that recently for German magazine Musikexpress. Here is Phoenix’s shortened version of Dylan’s “Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands” (from his 1966 album Blonde on Blonde).

Phoenix – Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands

(via Pitchfork)

One band that I’ve only recently latched onto but is sure to make more than a few top ten lists this year for their album “Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix” is Phoenix.

The record kicks all kinds of ass and I expect more good things from these guys in the future. As a bit of a visual and aural treat today, I stumbled across this video of them performing on the streets of Paris much to the delight of passersby.

Enjoy!

I always forget that Amazon chooses 50 mp3 albums to offer for $5 every month, unless they send me an email about it. They just did, and there are, as usual, some good choices in several genres. I need to set up a reminder or something so I’ll remember to check in every month to see what’s on offer. (I need to do the same thing with Blu-ray discs, but that’s neither here nor there.) Anything else I should be checking out?

Some notables this month:

	Phoenix Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix Amazon MP3	I haven’t heard much Phoenix myself, but a lot of people whose musical taste I trust have been raving about them. Plus Metric is touring with them, so they must be decent, right?
	Elizabeth and the Catapult Taller Children Amazon MP3	I wrote about this band a few weeks ago, after becoming a near-instant fan on hearing a few of their songs.
	The Cardigans First Band on the Moon Amazon MP3	Awww, this was my first Cardigans album. As I recall, it was on the cheapie rack then, too. Really doesn’t deserve it, though, it’s a good album. I mean, COME ON, they cover Black Sabbath’s “Iron Man” on it.
	Dirty Projectors Rise Above Amazon MP3	I haven’t gotten into Dirty Projectors much, but their current album Bitte Orca has been all the rage around the music blogs this year. This is their previous album, from 2007.

More after the jump.

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It’s been very interesting to watch the massive outpouring of tributes to the late Michael Jackson. MJ was my first musical hero. Thriller was my very first cassette tape and will always be the first musician to really inspire a passion for music that has not waned since the early 80′s back when I was still a little hulkster. From the impromptu dance party after a Phoenix show in Denver, to watching people break in to impromptu singalongs, it’s easy to remember just why there was always a huge hoopla around anything he ever did. It’s the music. In the end it’s always about the music. The press is doing what they do and are talking about the will, and all the money, and all the other extraneous things that really don’t mean a whole lot personally. What I’ll always take from the last few days is re-discovering an amazing talent and all the incredible music he left us. I’m pretty sure I’m not alone.

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